Cricket Australia fines David Warner $5750 over Twitter rant

UPDATE: DAVID Warner says he wants to draw a line under his Twitter rant controversy and move forward after copping a $5750 fine from CA.

UPDATE: DAVID Warner says he wants to draw a line under his Twitter rant controversy and move forward after copping a $5750 fine from Cricket Australia for his weekend outburst.

Warner spoke to reporters this morning after pleading guilty yesterday to unbecoming behaviour after his expletive-laden criticism of senior News Ltd cricket writers Robert Craddock and Malcolm Conn.

Warner took exception to an article by Craddock exposing the sleazy night life and alleged corruption within the Indian Premier League, which was illustrated in print on Saturday with a picture of Warner playing for the Delhi Daredevils.

The 26-year-old, who was in India at the time, said he had been sent a picture of the newspaper story with his image alongside it and became enraged.

He made his feelings known in very blunt terms on Twitter and used similar language when Conn responded.

"Obviously it's disappointing that guys are match-fixing. It's not my place to say why they did do it or why they keep continuing to do it,'' Warner said today.

"But for me to have my image related to an article (detailing those issues) ... it's the worst thing that can possibly be brought to a cricket player.''

But the hard-hitting batsman expressed remorse, saying he did not handle the incident properly.

"I think we (Australian cricketers) are a family in a way with the journos being a broader spectrum. We've got to try and keep the fighting in house and not let it go out house,'' he said.

"If I went the right way about it and gave Robert a call, we wouldn't be in this position today.''

Warner said he made peace with Conn and that the pair were keen to move on.

He suggested there had been a range of feedback from fellow cricketers.

"Some of the guys think it's comical and some of the guys think it was disgraceful what I did,'' he said.

"But at the end of the day if I didn't use the language I did, it might have went the other way.

"Like I said (in Wednesday's statement) I apologise for the language I used and if I offended anyone.

"... We all know as professional athletes what is appropriate and what isn't appropriate (on Twitter).

"It was my fault, I take full blame for what's happened.''

When asked if he had damaged his chances of being a future leader for the Australian team, Warner said: "I'm solely focused on the England tour ahead. I want to concentrate on scoring runs.''

Warner will depart on the weekend for the upcoming Champions Trophy in England.

He was fined the maximum allowed by rule six of Cricket Australia's code of behaviour for a first offence. CA's senior code of behaviour commissioner, Justice Gordon Lewis, heard the case.

Australia captain Michael Clarke has spoken to Warner about his behaviour.

"That's one side of Davey - he wears his heart on his sleeve," Clarke said at an Ashes farewell function at Sydney airport yesterday.

"It's that aggression that makes him such a fantastic young cricketer.

"He understands that he overstepped the mark and he's very apologetic. He knows it's unacceptable."

Clarke believes that Warner, 26, should continue to harbour leadership ambitions.

"He's a great man and I love playing cricket with him," Clarke said.

#cricket Great to catch up with a smiling @davidwarner31 this morning for a handshake and a chat before his presser. All good.

— Malcolm Conn (@malcolmconn) May 23, 2013

"I'm really confident that if he continues to grow as he has done over the past four or five years, there's no reason why he hasn't got the potential to captain Australia one day."

Clarke is confident the Warner case will not stop other players expressing themselves on Twitter or speaking openly and honestly in public.

"I love the freedom of speech we have in Australia but we also need to understand and have respect for the people that surround us," Clarke said.

"I'm very open to the guys talking about whatever they want to talk about.

"I love the fact in the team we allow people to be themselves and talk about what they want to talk about.

"We understand there is a line. Go to the line, don't overstep the mark."

CA's rule six states that "players and officials must not at any time engage in behaviour unbecoming to a representative player or official that could (a) bring them or the game of cricket into disrepute or (b) be harmful to the interests of cricket.